in this section, we are presenting our readers/aspirants compilation of selected editorials of national daily viz. The Hindu, The live mint,The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Economic Times, PIB etc. This section caters the requirement of Civil Services Mains (GS + Essay) , PCS, HAS Mains (GS + Essay) & others essay writing competitions

1.Budget & oil prices: GoI needs to avoid premature fiscal tightening as RBI needs to keep an eye on inflation

A year is a long time in an uncertain world. Over the last year, India’s economic challenges have multiplied. Policy support that was wholly directed to revive an economy in the midst of its first annual economic contraction in three decades has to now simultaneously focus on a relatively high retail inflation that is sticky. The price of the Indian basket of crude, a popular gauge of inflationary pressure, is now around $87 a barrel, higher by about 50% over the last year. Therefore, RBI and GoI need to tweak their positions to simultaneously support economic growth and cope with an upward pressure on retail inflation.

The forthcoming Union Budget needs to be framed in the context of the last two years. Monetary policy has been the main tool deployed to revive the economy. Not only has the central bank’s policy rate at 4% been lower than retail inflation for long periods, market interest rates have been pulled down by expanding liquidity. Consequently, in the last two years, median-term deposit rates of banks for fresh inflows have fallen by 2.13 percentage points and average lending rates for new loans are now 1.97 percentage points lower.

There are two developments that indicate that monetary policy has run its course. Over the last two months the gap between the interest rates on short-term and long-term loans has widened as the threat of high global inflation influences the bond market, and also the expectation that there will be substantial borrowing by GoI and states. This shouldn’t deter either GoI or states. The economic priority remains reviving the economy as recovery has been uneven. Both contact-intensive services and private consumption remain below the pre-pandemic levels. The Omicron wave has just added to the stress.

The stickiness of core inflation around the 6% mark and a higher-than-anticipated nominal GDP growth will improve the deficit parameters of GoI and states. However, it will be premature to tighten fiscal policy further as RBI may have to readjust its priorities, depending on the way inflation and financial markets behave. It’s time for fiscal policy to take the lead as the services sector needs targeted assistance. For second-tier Indian firms, risk-averse banks are unlikely to make a meaningful difference. It’s government spending which can crowd-in private business and investments. The Union Budget needs to reflect this approach.

2.Speed isn’t the point: Environmental ranking of states based on how swiftly they clear projects is not desirable

As environmental regulation is far from a Formula 1 race, speed should not be the key criteria for assessing it. This is why the Union environment ministry’s plan to rate State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs) by faster green clearances raises questions. The rating is being undertaken within the ease of doing business (EoDB) framework. While balancing economic and environmental interests is complex and necessary work for governments to do, the specific mandate of SEIAAs is to safeguard the environment. The ranking that really matters here is how India’s air, water and land quality compare to other countries today.

Of course it is not in public interest to have the clearance process mired in red tape either. In this regard NDA has done well to rectify the UPA-era logjam. Prescribed timeline is down to 105 days, average time taken down to 75 days. But we cannot keep speeding down this path illimitably. Plus, it is not as if states’ EoDB rankings are sole determinants of actual investment flows. Tamil Nadu ranks lower than both UP and Bengal. But the state attracts some very big projects. Ola’s e-scooter plant in Krishnagiri being a recent example.

Consider that SEIAA members will get the top score if they undertake site visits in less than 10% of cases, but the bottom score if visits are undertaken in over 20% cases. This is a strange incentive given that these state authorities are supposed to be staffed by experts in local ecology precisely so they can rigorously analyse the impact of a particular project. Even though the pandemic has forced grant of clearances through virtual meetings, this is not a desirable policy when it comes to the future of our ecologically sensitive areas. From Uttarakhand to Kerala, SEIAAs need to be independent of both business and governments. They should put the environment first, and last.

3.Court and compensation: On ex gratia to kin of COVID-19 victims

The Supreme Court has done much to grant some succour to the kin of COVID-19 victims

It took much persuasion by the Supreme Court and all its assertiveness to get the Union government to agree last year to pay a token compensation of ₹50,000 to the families of each of those who were claimed by COVID-19. The time has now come for the Court to assert its authority once again to ensure that neither tardiness on the part of the States nor incorrect rejection of claims deprives genuine victims of their right to the ex gratia amount. In the latest hearing, the Court had to pull up a couple of States for not disbursing the amount fast enough and express concern about the high number of rejected claims. In the backdrop of reports that there has been significant under-reporting of deaths due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Bench had passed orders some months ago to the effect that no person’s family shall be denied the benefit on the ground that the death certificate did not specify the cause of death as due to COVID-19. Early experience since the outbreak showed that many deaths were attributed to co-morbidities rather than to the infection itself. Also, many died after testing negative during hospitalisation or after their discharge. To address this situation, the Court directed that any death occurring within 30 days of a person testing positive, or being clinically determined to suffer from the infection, will be eligible for the ex gratia payment. In addition, the Court devised an appeal mechanism in the form of grievance redress committees at the district level.

In the latest order, the Bench, comprising Justice M.R. Shah and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, has directed that if a claim has been rejected due to defects in application, the family must be given an opportunity to rectify the shortcoming and then be paid the compensation. Noting that in some cases, the number of claims is lower than the number of registered deaths, the Court has directed that officials reach out to the families on their own. It has extracted assurances from some States that claims that had been cleared but yet to be disbursed would be cleared as early as possible. Significantly, it has also mandated the disclosure of the reasons for rejection to the applicants so that they could either rectify errors or go on appeal to the committee to redress such grievances. In yet another bid to ensure that eligible families are not denied the benefit, the Court has roped in the legal services authority in each State and district to ascertain whether compensation has been paid to the kin of everyone recorded as dead due to the pandemic in official records, and facilitate the payment if it is yet to be made. The Supreme Court has done much to grant some succour, low though the quantum may be in the light of the staggering impact the pandemic has had on lives and livelihoods, to millions of people.

4.Yemen’s tragedy

Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE must rein in proxies and work towards rebuilding Yemen

The Saudi-led coalition, in which the UAE was a part, started bombing Yemen in 2015, hoping to swiftly dislodge the Houthi rebels from Sana’a and reinstate the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in the capital. Almost seven years later, the Iran-backed Houthis, who were holed up in northern Yemen and began counter-attacks with missiles and drones into Saudi Arabia, have expanded the war all the way to the Gulf coast of the UAE. Monday’s drone attacks on Abu Dhabi by the Houthis, in which two Indians and a Pakistani were killed, were a message to the Emiratis on what they are capable of. It may not be a coincidence that the attacks were carried out at a time when the UAE-backed forces have been making slow gains in Yemen’s conflict against the Houthis. But the UAE’s involvement in Yemen has had many turns. It quit the Saudi-led coalition in 2020 as the war had hit a stalemate. Since then, the Emiratis have provided tactical support to the Southern Transitional Council, a separatist body in southern Yemen that drove the Saudi-backed forces loyal to President Hadi out of Aden. The dynamics changed again when the Houthis began pushing into territories outside their stronghold, especially Marib; if they take Marib, they would be a step ahead to push into the south. Faced with the prospects of further Houthi territorial gains, UAE-backed forces such as Giants Brigades (a militia from the south) have joined hands with the government. Then came the Abu Dhabi attacks.

These could escalate the conflict. The immediate response from the Saudi-led coalition has been to carry out a massive air strike on the partly destroyed Sana’a. The UAE has also vowed retaliation. A Houthi strike to scare away the Emiratis from Yemen could trigger the opposite reaction from Abu Dhabi, which now has powerful proxies in the south. The cycle of violence spells tragic news for Yemen’s 30 million people for whom the country has been turned into what UNICEF has called “a living hell”. Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, is facing a three-way crisis — thousands have been killed in the conflict, many more abandoned or suffering by the collapse of the government and social services; and mass hunger. The first step to address this tragedy is to end the fighting. But, unfortunately, the parties in the conflict and their regional backers are keen on escalating the conflict further rather than finding a solution. If the fighting over the last seven years holds any lesson, it is that there can be no military solution to Yemen’s problems. To dial down tensions, there have to be talks, not only between the rebels, separatists and the government but also between their backers — Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. If these regional powers agree to rein in their proxies and work towards rebuilding Yemen, that would also help them restore stability and security in the Arabian peninsula.